Chapter 174: Prison Visit, Paired Vanishing Cabinets
Less than a week of the two-week holiday had passed, and Ethan still had plenty of time to finish everything he needed to do.
For the rest of the holiday, Ethan traveled back and forth between Shafiq Manor and Cyril's villa. Every morning after breakfast, he went to the manor to practice the Patronus Charm. In the evenings, he returned for dinner and then practiced Transfiguration in his room, reshaping vases, books, and other objects to simulate various dragon organs.
Ethan combined the anatomy of the five dragon species he knew, using his favorite Swedish Short-Snout as the primary blueprint, to design a reasonable internal structure for the three-headed dragon. As for actually Transfiguring into the Common Welsh Green and Swedish Short-Snout, he planned to wait until school to demonstrate it in front of Dumbledore. He also had a question that required the old man's clarification.
Two days before the new term began, a question suddenly occurred to Ethan. *Did Muggle souls split from killing?*
He looked at his nearly finished design, hastily wrapped up the day's work, and had Coco take him back to Cyril's villa. Once there, he asked Albert for help over dinner.
"Visit a prison?" Albert was puzzled by Ethan's request. He didn't understand why Ethan was making such a request. Although Ethan had told his parents he could now see souls, he hadn't mentioned the wizarding theory that killing splits a person's soul.
Ethan explained the theory to him.
"I see. You just want to look at the souls of serious criminals from a distance, right? Sure, I'll make some calls right away." After hearing Ethan's explanation, Albert was curious whether this wizard theory applied to non-magical people like them.
A few phone calls later, Albert had it arranged. "A reporter is heading to Windsor Prison for an interview tomorrow. You can go as an assistant."
"That's great. Thanks, Dad." An interview would let him observe prisoners up close, which was better than his original request.
Albert looked curious. "No trouble at all. Tell me what their souls look like when you get back."
Early the next morning, Piero, a driver he hadn't seen in a long time, drove Ethan toward the headquarters of the little-known Daily Observer.
"Haven't seen you in a while, Piero." Since starting at Hogwarts, Ethan hadn't seen the driver who'd escorted him for years.
"Indeed, it has been a while, Young Master Ethan. Since you started school, I've been promoted to team leader of the full-time drivers, coordinating transportation for the group." Piero smiled.
"Not bad, a promotion!" They chatted along the way until Ethan reached the newspaper office, which wasn't far from his home.
Since it was a small agency, the boss and chief editor greeted Ethan personally.
"Mr. Jones, please wait a moment. The interview team is doing some final checks." The pot-bellied, bald boss offered a brilliant smile.
"Go right ahead." Ethan sipped the boss's prized black tea while Piero stood behind him in a black suit, acting as his bodyguard.
When the group departed, the newspaper team took one car while Ethan followed in his own vehicle.
The prison administrator greeted them upon arrival. He wasn't at all surprised to see Ethan tagging along, since Ethan himself had tipped off the newspaper. If he'd wanted to keep a lower profile, Ethan could have simply visited under his own name. The Daily Observer's visit was primarily motivated by rumors that the government planned to permit private prisons, and they wanted to gather perspectives from both the administration and the inmates.
A female reporter in a sharp business suit interviewed the guards and staff in the reception area. Afterward, accompanied by a large guard detail, she began conducting one-on-one interviews with pre-selected prisoners. Wearing an assistant's badge, Ethan trailed the group. He activated his special vision, scanning the soul of every person they passed.
Toward the end of the visit, Ethan stood on a raised walkway, watching prisoners emerge from their cells below while the photographer's shutter clicked rhythmically nearby.
After observing the souls of these inmates, Ethan finally grasped the true meaning of fragmentation. He had believed Cyril's condition to be rare, for among all the wizards he had encountered, including the dark wizards of Knockturn Alley, Cyril's soul had been the most shattered. Yet the murderers imprisoned here possessed souls even more broken than any wizard's he had seen.
The prison guard pointed out several notorious criminals, and Ethan remained silent, lost in thought. The murderer who had killed fifteen innocent girls had a soul that resembled porcelain cracked by ice, with not a single fragment larger than a palm. *Is he hiding more murders? Otherwise, how could fifteen victims cause a soul to split this severely?*
A darker question surfaced: *Can a Horcrux be made with someone else's help? If I used that spell to take a piece of a Muggle soul, could I make a Horcrux?*
Once the photos were taken, the interview officially ended. Ethan said goodbye to the newspaper crew at the door, still pondering a question that probably had no answer, and drove home.
Tomorrow was the last day before school started. Ethan planned to go to Knockturn Alley to pick up his Vanishing Cabinet. He was supposed to pick it up two days ago, but the shopkeeper, Mr. Borgin, hadn't finished the repairs, so it was pushed back to the last day before the holiday ended.
"Are you sure it's fixed?" Ethan and Cyril examined the Vanishing Cabinet, which still had scratches even though the cracks had been repaired, eyeing Mr. Borgin doubtfully.
"Absolutely." Mr. Borgin looked like he wanted to pound his chest in assurance.
"I'll verify it. But if it's still broken, I'll be back."
"I held onto it for a few days to ensure it was thoroughly fixed!"
"Fine. The final payment is here. But if it remains broken, I shall return." He placed the remaining Galleons on the counter and collected the cabinet from Borgin and Burkes.
*A pair of Vanishing Cabinets. I wonder how much that information would sell for?* The Burkes were among the Sacred Twenty-Eight, so Borgin naturally had no fear of the Shafiq family, which was down to its last two members. He swept the gold Galleons off the counter and into a drawer, muttering.
They returned home via the Floo Network, and Ethan began testing whether the connection between the two cabinets actually worked.
"Looks fixed." Ethan opened the cabinet and took out a green apple. He closed the door, munching on it as he walked next door to Cyril's place. "Seems fine. Take this cabinet to school with you. If you need anything, just send a letter. I'll put it in the cabinet for you to pick up.
"Try a living creature next. The Vanishing Cabinet is meant for transporting wizards, so it's large. If it works for living things, it will be much more convenient." He finished the apple and tossed the core into a bin.
"That puts my mind at ease." Cyril nodded.
He walked out the door, intending to catch a bird from the yard, but spotted a scraggly stray cat with matted fur lying at the entrance of the empty villa.
"You'll do." Seeing no one around, Cyril drew his wand and summoned the stray cat. The creature let out a shrill cry as he caught it by the scruff of the neck. It meowed desperately and struggled.
"Silencio." He cast a Silencing Charm.
"Petrificus Totalus." Seeing it was still struggling, he followed up with a Full Body-Bind Curse.
"Done."
Cyril carried the stiff tabby cat into the villa and shoved it into a cabinet.
"I'll go see if it worked."
A short while later, Ethan returned from next door, still carrying the stiff cat.
"No problem. Still alive." Ethan set the tabby on the ground and lifted the curse.
The cat, recovering from the shock of the spell, rolled to its feet and hissed at Cyril. When Cyril raised his wand again, the creature darted behind Ethan, letting out a soft meow.
Cyril shook his head and put away his wand. The cat circled Ethan, rubbing against his ankles. "Looks like it's latched onto you."
Ethan recalled a charm from The Standard Book of Household Spells, specifically the Hair Cleansing Charm used by pet owners. He drew his wand, visualizing the technique he had studied but never used, and cast it on the cat.
Under the spell's influence, the stray cat's fur looked freshly washed and instantly became clean. The matted patches smoothed out. However, the tabby, having never experienced magic, let out a shrill scream the moment the spell hit and struggled desperately. Too weak to break free, it bolted out the open door the instant the spell ended, without looking back.
"Heh." Ethan shook his head, put away his wand, and went next door to have lunch with Cyril.
That night, Ethan organized his expanded Undetectable Extension Bag. He placed the Vanishing Cabinet inside, along with a thick stack of structural diagrams from the holiday, various small objects, and notes. He also packed plenty of snacks, intending to let his roommates sample some new treats.
Early the next morning, Ethan said goodbye to his family and boarded the train.
Just as before, Ethan had a compartment to himself. However, the atmosphere on the return journey was vastly different from the departure. On the way home, the train had been filled with cheers and laughter as everyone discussed where to go and what to eat. Now, the excitement was gone, replaced by anxious voices.
Voices echoed constantly in the corridor.
"Any first-year Potions homework I can 'look' at?"
"Anyone finished the first-year Astronomy homework?"
"I need Transfiguration homework. Will trade for first-year History of Magic."
It was obvious from the conversation that those shouting in the corridor were all first-years. It made perfect sense. Older students had already learned their lesson and moved past the stage of shouting about homework in the corridors. They had either finished their assignments honestly over the holidays, arranged to borrow homework from classmates who'd stayed at school, or copied it before the deadline.
The corridor was so packed that the snack trolley couldn't get through. Bored, Ethan decided to buy some snacks. He left his compartment and pushed through the throng of anxious students.
"Just wait until second year; they'll know what to do," an older student told his friend as Ethan passed.
Ethan smiled at that. He grabbed a pack of Chocolate Frogs and headed back to his compartment.
*Dumbledore again.* He tossed the old wizard's card onto the table, one of many he already had, and ate the frog while watching the scenery roll by.
When the train arrived at the station, Ethan watched as many first-years who hadn't finished their homework during the journey hurried into the carriages, lugging bags full of unfinished assignments. Once inside the castle, some didn't even bother going to the Great Hall for dinner, asking classmates to bring them food instead as they headed straight for the dormitories.
After eating his fill, Ethan returned to the dormitory and brought out snacks for his roommates. Goyle and Crabbe were thrilled by the unfamiliar Muggle treats and thanked him repeatedly. Draco, however, suspected there was a catch. These strange snacks were definitely hiding something.
Watching his cronies dig in, Draco chose not to warn them. After all, better them than him. Letting them test for traps first was the smart move.
He picked up a stack of homework from his desk and handed it to Ethan. "Here."
"You didn't just copy everything, did you?" Ethan didn't even glance at it as he set it on the desk.
"No, we all 'referenced' it without copying outright," Draco said, shaking his head. Ethan had made that condition clear before lending his work. Draco understood.
"I'm heading to the library, then." Ethan nodded and left the Slytherin dormitory, stopping by the Room of Requirement before the library.
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